Method of and means for installing a counterflashing in a wall



March 15, 1960 1' BERG 2,928,274

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR INSTALLING A COUNTERFLASHING IN A WALL Flled March 4, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Edward 7." Berg March 15, 1960 E. T. BERG 2,928,274

M OD 0 ND MEA FOR INSTALLING COU RFLASH IN A WALL Filed March 4, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I as.

INVENTOR. Edward T Berg I BY V,

United States P The present invention relates to the installation of counterflashings, such as are used to prevent seepage of water 'alongvertical or inclined walls into the space underneath roofing materials that partially cover these To hold such counterflashings in their proper channels walls. position, it is necessary toprovide retaining known as reglets in these walls.

It is an object of my invention to provide'a simple, time-saving and inexpensive method of building a reglet into a wall during the construction thereof.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive reglet that may readily be-built into a wall during the construction thereofand which may be securely anchored within the wall to-resist accidental dislocation or removal thereof. 3

When counterflashings are engaged in reglets, the space above and below the engaged portion-of the counterflashing within the reglet should usually be filled with a plastic compound so thatno moisture can penetrate into, and collect within, the reglet whereit might cause corrosion of the reglet or the counterfiashing and utimately seep' into the space underneath the counter flashingfv To. apply a moisture-excluding compound to reglets built into walls when the counterflashings are engaged therein, is a difficult, time-consuming and arduous task that requires considerable skill.

.It is an object of my invention .to furnish a simple and time-saving method .of.. providing. a moisture-excluding compound around the. reglet-engaging portion of counterflashings.

These and other objects'of my invention will be apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawing which illustrates certain preferred embodiments thereof and wherein Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective of a reglet embodying my invention before it is installed in a wall;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through a partially constructed wall to which a reglet embodying my invention is applied;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section through a completed wall, with the reglet of my invention installed therein and with a counterflashing engaged within the reglet; and

Figure 4 is a. vertical section through a wall, similar,

height. To introduce a plastic moisture-excluding compound into a recess above the engaged flange of the counterflashing is likewise a difficult and time-consuming task that requires many man-hours and which makes it often necessary for the craftsman to work in a kneeling or crouched position depending upon the location of the recess. Also, direct contact of the counterflashing in therecess with the material from which the wall is constructed, such as concrete or concrete bricks, causes frequently premature corrosion and resultant deterioration of the counterflashing.

In accordance with my invention I overcome all these difficulties and disadvantages by building a reglet into the wall during the construction thereof. In particular, I build the wall up to the desired level where the reglet is to be located, and place a reglet-of a particular conformation upon the temporary'top surface of the wall.

' level.

This reglet is so constructed-that it has no top or roof portion, and to this reglet I apply the moisture-excluding compound in the form of a long strip, and then complete construction of the wall above said strip to the desired In this manner I" reduce the time normally required for filling'the counterfiashing-receiving recess in the wall with a moisture-excluding compound to a matter of minutes, and I have the assurance that every corner of said recess is completely filled with the compound.

In addition I construct the reglet of my invention in such a manner that it is securely anchored within the finished wall and cannot accidentally be dislocated or removed. Furthermore, I construct the reglet of my invention in such a manner. that'direct contact between i the reglet and the counterflashing isheld at a minimum,

portion 12 which has an upwardly turned flange 14 along to Figure 3, illustrating a modified embodiment of my invention.

Previously, when counterfiashings were anchored in vertical walls, it was customary to first complete construction of the-wall, remove material from the side of the wall to form a longitudinal recess therein, insert a laterally bent flange atthe upper end of the counterdiflicult and time-consuming and it will usually yield a recess that is of non-uniform and irregular depth and its rear edgeand a downwardly turned lip 16 along its front edge; The v,base; portion 12 contains a number of longitudinally extending ribs, as shown at 18 and 20. The reglet also comprises a thick strip 22 of a heavy plastic moisture-excluding material, such as 'calking compound, that is of roughly rectangular cross section and which is placed upon the ribs 18 and 20 and extends along the full horizontal length of'the base or floor portion 12 with its outer side face 24 about flush with the lip 16 of the reglet. This strip of plastic compound is pressed down upon the ribs 18 and 20 until it fills the space between said ribs and extends into the space behind the rib 18, as shown in Figure2, and in this condition its height should be such that its top surface is about flush with the top edge of flange 14. Its width, however, is appreciably shorter than the width of the base portion 12 of the reglet, so that there remains a substantial space 25 between the inner side 26 of the strip 22 and the. rear flange 14 of the reglet 10 for reasons that will presently appear (Figure 2).

When a wall 30 has been built up to the level Where the upper end of the counterflashing is to be secured to the finished wall, the reglet 10 is placed upon the top surface 32 of the partially completed wall in such a manner that its lip 16 bears against the front surface 34 thereof. With the reglet in the described position and a strip of a suitable moisture-excluding compoundresting thereon in the manner illustrated in Figure 2, the craftsman continues building the wall by placing mortar into the space behind the rear flange 14 of the reglet and by introducing mortar into the space between the outwardly directed face of the a said flange and the rear side 26 of the strip 22. He then places bricks and mortar upon the top surface 36 of the plastic strip 22 pressing them down upon said strip so that their bottom surfaces are level with the top edge of the rear flange 14 of the reglet'il) as illustrated in Figure 3. Thus the plastic strip fills every corner of the reglet, except for the barrier of mortar 37 adjacent the outwardly directed face of the reglet flange 14. Thereupon the craftsman continues construction of the wall .39 in the normal manner until it has reached its desired height. The finished wall is then provided with a slot or recess that is completely filled with a moisture-excluding compound, which cannot be removed because it has flown around and into the space between the ribs 18 nd 20 in the floor of the reglet. It is now an easy matter to introduce the laterally turned top flange 38 of a counter: flashing 40 into the compound filled space and secure i in its proper position byrneans of suitable Wedges of lead or like metal, as shown at 41 in Figure 3. Due to the pres? ence of the ribs 18 and 20 in the floor of the reglet and owing to themanner in which the strip of plastic compound was pressed down upon the floor of the :reglet, prior to completion of the wall, there is assurance that not only the space above the flange 38 of counterfiashing 40, but also the space between said flange and the floor12 of the reglet is complete'lyfilled with the moisture-excluding compound, so that there .is no possibility for moisture to reach the area below the external portions of the counterfiashing 40. The ribs .18 and 20 make it also impossible for the strip of moisture-excluding compound to he accidentally withdrawn from the recess in the .wall, if it should become necessary to withdraw the counterflashing for the purpose of replacement; and the reglet itself cannot be torn out of the recess in the wall during replacement of the counterflashing because of the concrete barrier 37 that reaches into the space before its rear flange 14.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 4 has all the advantages of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, but differs from said last'mentioned embodiment insofar as it does not require any wedges for securing the counterflashing in position; engaging flange 38', the counter-flashing 40' of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 4, has a downwardly turned, smoothly curved portion42 that conforms with the outer surface of the downwardly bent lip Adjacent its recess- 169i the resist 10 and which o lie Said p when the flange 38 of the counterflashing is properly engaged in the compound-filled recess of wall 30. By securing the portion 42 of the counterflashing 40 to the lip 16 of the reglet 10 withthe aid of a number of short screws 44 that reach into the wall 30, the counterflashing 40' may be safely secured in position without wedges, such as shown at 38 in Figure 3. I

My method of, and means for, installing a counterflashing in a wall provide a very substantial saving in labor, time, and expense, and they result in an effective, neat, and dependable installation.

While I have explained my invention with the aid of certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that my invention is not limited to the specific constructional details shown and described, which may be departed from without departing from the spirit and cope o my in nt n- 1 claim;

I eme hod o c n t uct r c s f r e re i of a counterflashing into a wall at a predetermined level during the construction of the wall, which comprises building the wall up to said predetegrnined level, placing a reglet having an elongated flat floor portion and an upturn d fla e pr v d alon h e e e o said fl portio th its flo r portion 1. 1 9 th te p y t p surface of the wall, placing an elongated strip of a plastic mo ur xcludin m ter al-up n th o r portion of a r gl ti su a ma n r t at a sp e .ii ef be we n the rear Side of said strip and-the flange of said floor portion, filling mortar into the space between the rear side of said strip and said flange, and continuing the construction of the wall behind said flange and above said :strip'tothe desired height.

References flited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Herring Feb. 11, 1958 

